ARTICLES ABOUT ALL STAR GAME BY DATE - PAGE 5

BOSTON - White Sox left-hander Chris Sale needed a few extra days, but he earned the title of All-Star for a third time Thursday thanks to 6.7 million votes in his favor. Sale was selected for Tuesday's game via Major League Baseball's Final Vote fan balloting from a pool of five American League players. He is the first White Sox pitcher to make three consecutive All-Star teams since Jack McDowell did it from 1991-1993. Sale was the winning pitcher in last year's game.

CINCINNATI - Manager Rick Renteria called a team meeting after Thursday's 6-4, 12-inning victory that ignited a loud roar from the visitor's clubhouse. Renteria broke the news that Anthony Rizzo won the National League Final Vote to Tuesday's All-Star Game in Minneapolis that completed an eventful four days and capped a remarkable first-half comeback for the Cubs' first baseman. "I had no idea," said Rizzo, a first-time All-Star who will join shortstop Starlin Castro and former Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija, who was traded to the Athletics on July 4. "It's great, it's awesome.

The Sports Xchange By John Perrotto, The Sports Xchange EditorsNote: MLB Insider Column Half-season awards: Trout clear MVP One of baseball's many quirks is that it does not delineate the first half and second half of the season at the midway point of the 162-game schedule, a mark all 30 teams have passed. The midway point of the 162-game schedule is before the All-Star break, but the first half won't end until following Sunday's games as the All-Star Game will be held next Tuesday at Target Field in Minneapolis and every team will have a four-day break before resuming play July 18. So with just a few days left in the "first half" of the season, it's time to hand out half-season awards in each league with a bit of a sabermetric bent to them.

(Reuters) - St. Louis Cardinals All-Star catcher Yadier Molina will miss the next eight to 12 weeks after suffering a ligament tear in his right thumb, the Major League Baseball team said on Thursday. Molina, who was slated to start at catcher for the National League in next week's All-Star Game, is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday, just as the team was mounting a charge in the Central Division. "Obviously, when you lose a player of his skill set and leadership, it's tough," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak told reporters.

It took four days of furious voting, but Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo and White Sox pitcher Chris Sale are heading to the All-Star Game. The two were among the 10 candidates for MLB's Final Vote, which ended Thursday afternoon after a marathon six-hours of Twitter voting helped keep Sale (6.7 million votes) and Rizzo (8.8 million) in the lead of their respective leagues. Sale is the third Sox player named to the American League All-Star team this year alongside rookie first baseman Jose Abreu and shortstop Alexei Ramirez. Rizzo joins Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro on the NL squad. "We knew coming in these guys have skill, aptitude and the ability to play the game and maybe they've found a sense of comfort, confidence, another year of experience under their belt," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said of the duo. "Any number of things that have contributed to it. I t's gratifying that we have two young men on our ballclub who have done very well and will be representing us. " Both Sale and Rizzo led voting on Thursday morning and were able to hang on until the polls closed.

Anthony Rizzo's rising popularity is showing up not only in Final Vote ballots for the All-Star Game, but also in jersey sales. The Cubs first baseman ranks 15th on Major League Baseball's list of jersey sales since opening day. Heading into his 14th and final All-Star Game appearance, Derek Jeter remains atop the list, closely followed by some of the biggest names in the game as well as young stars such as Rizzo who are leading the next generation....

Kazmir, A's complete series win over Giants SAN FRANCISCO -- Scott Kazmir's first 10 wins this season led the left-hander into the All-Star Game. The 11th might have earned him a start in the game. Kazmir capped a brilliant personal first half with one of his best efforts of the season, striking out nine and shutting out the San Francisco Giants on three hits in seven innings in the Oakland Athletics' 6-1 victory over their cross-bay rivals Thursday afternoon. The win allowed the A's, leaders of the American League West, to split two games in San Francisco after they swept two in Oakland to begin the four-game sequence Monday and Tuesday.

The Sports Xchange NBA roundup: Still no word on Anthony Free agent forward Carmelo Anthony is keeping Phil Jackson waiting by the phone. The New York Knicks president remained optimistic Thursday that Anthony will choose to remain with his team. Anthony is believed to have received a maximum contract offer of five years and $129 million from the Knicks. "The two of us, I think, feel really passionately about what we're trying to get accomplished," Jackson said of Anthony, according to ESPN.

The Sports Xchange Cavs' Irving signs contract extension The Cleveland Cavaliers officially signed point guard Kyrie Irving to a contract extension, the team announced Thursday. The extension is reported to be a max contract allowed under the collective bargaining agreement at five years and $95 million. The new deal begins next year and will run through the 2019-20 season. Irving had one year remaining on his contract. "We couldn't be happier to have Kyrie firmly at the core of our Cavaliers team and family for years to come," said Cavaliers general manager David Griffin said in a statement.

ST. LOUIS -- All-Star catcher Yadier Molina is expected to miss at least eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn thumb ligament. The St. Louis Cardinals announced the procedure would take place Friday. Molina left Wednesday night's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the bottom of the third inning with what the team called a right thumb sprain. Molina appeared to sustain the injury sliding into third base advancing from second on right fielder Allen Craig's groundout to third in the second.